Sunday, May 1, 2011

"Concordia Parish (French: Paroisse de Concordia) borders the Mississippi River in eastern Louisiana. The parish seat is Vidalia. As of 2000, the population was 20,247. It is part of the Natchez, MS–LA Micropolitan Statistical Area.

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"Concordia means "harmony" in Latin.

"During the American Civil War, Concordia Parish was staunchly Confederate. According to the historian John D. Winters in his The Civil War in Louisiana (1863), Concordia, "a planter-dominated parish, displayed unusual Confederate patriotism in early March [1862]. A handsome bounty of $100 was offered to any man who joined one of three designated companies forming for the duration of the war. A bounty of $50 would be paid to those joining either of two companies being raised in the neighboring parish of Catahoula. A $50,000 bond issue was voted to finance the bounty program. . . . $40,000 was appropriated for the relief of needy families of volunteers in the parish."